Now, anyone with a smattering of sales acumen will tell you that the words 'partners' or 'partnerships' are much more beguiling than 'borrower' or 'client', with their subtle suggestion of a symbiosis of equals. Still, we use that word within our business, not just for aesthetic reasons; it's used as it reflects something far more profound about how we view the relationship between lenders and property developers in the UK. This blog examines why the "partnership" mindset is essential and how strengthening this relationship can benefit everyone involved.
UK boutique property developers, in our eyes, are among the most creative and entrepreneurial individuals in the real estate sector. They identify underutilised land, unlock planning gains, and deliver high-spec, design-focused projects that larger developers often overlook. These are not your volume housebuilders; they’re highly skilled operators working in tight local markets, often with a strong sense of place and architectural quality. However, to turn a site into a successful scheme, in this hyper-competitive market, lacking the liquidity of a volume entity, requires a deeply interconnected, mutually dependent relationship. They need a backer who understands their projects and moves at the speed of an aggressive market. That’s why we say partner, not borrower.
Now, this relationship of equals is not without its challenges; there are clear frictions between the free-flowing nature of entrepreneurship and the diligence required to manage finances. Developers may focus on speed and delivery, sometimes overlooking the lending market's need for visibility into risk, timeline, and contingencies. Meanwhile, lenders can overwhelm partners with compliance or due diligence requests, particularly early on, when things need to move quickly. When communication falters, misunderstandings grow. There is also a natural conflict in the lending model, as ultimately, platforms are in the business of protecting capital. Developers are in the business of creating value. Those are two very different risk perspectives. If not aligned, they can lead to overly structured deals that place too much pressure on the developer or lenders, potentially leaving either side vulnerable. The final issue and perhaps the most pertinent from an ideological point of view is transactional thinking. Despite mutual benefits, some lender-developer relationships remain singular transactions. Without a longer-term view, there’s little incentive to improve communication, pricing, or efficiency; we become the very rigid banking models we are trying to disrupt, perhaps the most disheartening of outcomes, given our mission to disintermediate the sector into something better.
So, with our mindset of always striving to be better, how can all parties involved in these transactions adopt a genuine 'partnership' approach and avoid merely using the term in a meaningless barrage of flowery sales parlance? If both sides embrace a genuine partnership approach, the rewards can be significant. A high-quality developer-lender relationship is built on clear and continuous communication. Developers should share key project updates on a regular basis, and our sector, in response, should give clearer feedback on credit appetite, timelines, and approval processes.
When a site opportunity appears, developers need to move quickly. Larger institutions can take months to issue credit decisions, but in our sector, we can underwrite, approve, and draw down funds in a fraction of the time. That responsiveness is critical in a competitive market, and it’s one of the main reasons partnerships sustain. Rather than waiting until a deal is fully structured, developers can engage with us early, and our sector needs to convey this message more effectively. This needs to happen during feasibility, planning, or even acquisition. This gives us more confidence in the deal, and developers benefit from early input on finance strategy and risk management. Lending platforms like ours review hundreds of projects and have data across various regions, whereas our partners live in the details of their specific markets. Sharing insights, working together, and inviting those discussions, whether about pricing trends, build cost pressures, or local planning shifts, the good, the bad and the ugly, it all adds value and strengthens trust. We aim to add value beyond capital, helping to refine appraisals, workshop ideas, and problem-solve to be the partner our clients deserve.
As the UK property market continues to evolve, facing pressures from planning bottlenecks, construction inflation, and shifting buyer preferences, developer-lender relationships must also evolve.
At Invest & Fund, we believe the future lies in deeper, more transparent, and truly collaborative partnerships. When both sides are aligned, engaged, and invested in each other’s success, the result is not just successful projects, but stronger, more resilient businesses on both sides of the table.
So yes, we call our borrowers partners—because that’s exactly what they are.
Invest & Fund has returned over £300 million of capital and interest to lenders with zero losses, showing the rigour that governs our business.
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